The PMDC issued a notification on September 1, directing Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani colleges to return to Afghanistan. The notification also barred medical and dental colleges from granting admission or placement to Afghan students for the current academic session.

Subsequently, a set of petitions against the directive was filed by 13 Afghan students enrolled at different institutions in Lahore, including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences, on September 10.

At the last hearing on Sept 11, LHC’s Justice Khalid Ishaq had sought replies from the respondents, including the PMDC, the health ministry and the vice chancellors of the medical varsities and colleges in question.

But the lawyers for the PMDC and the University of Health Sciences, appeared before the court on Friday, and sought more time to furnish their written replies.

The judge allowed their requests and adjourned the hearing for a date to be fixed later.

During the hearing, Justice Ishaq also heard a plea filed by five Afghan medical graduates on Thursday.

The petitioners said they completed a five-year MBBS programme in the 2021-2026 session under the HEC-administered Allama Iqbal Scholarship, but the PMDC had left their registration applications undecided for months.

The five petitioners argued in their plea that without PMDC registration, they could not enrol in the mandatory year-long house job required to practice medicine, which effectively stalled their careers despite having fulfilled their academic requirements. They contended that PMDC’s own 2025 regulations granted graduating students a right to a house job placement at their affiliated teaching hospital, and that the council’s governing 2022 Act did not empower it to order deportations.

The plea was clubbed with those filed on Sept 10.

Specifically regarding this petition, Justice Ishaq asked the counsel for the petitioners, Advocate Asad Jamal, to satisfy the court as to how his clients could seek a year-long house job as a right, keeping in view Pakistan’s current foreign policy.

He also asked the lawyer why did graduates wanted to continue their stay despite completing their MBBS programme.

Advocate Jamal responded that the graduates had a legitimate expectation for a house job after the completion of their programme.

Justice Ishaq the directed the counsel to convince the court on the maintainability of the pleas filed by the graduates, keeping in view Pakistan’s current foreign policy.

A large number of Afghan medical students were also at the court to attend the hearing.

Deportation drive

Millions of Afghans have poured into Pakistan over the past several decades, fleeing successive wars, as well as hundreds of thousands who arrived after the return of the Tali­ban government in 2021.

A deportation drive first launched in 2023 was renewed in April last year when the government rescinded hun­dreds of thousands of residence permits for Afghans, warning them of arrests if they did not leave.

Last year alone, over a million Afghan nationals were deported by Pakistan, a Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) was informed.

Pakistan deported a total of 1,155,221 Afghan nationals in 2025, top officials of the Ministry of Interior and Chief Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees told the meeting.

The repatriated Afghans included 163,429 proof of registration card holders, 74,943 Afghan citizen card holders, 509,671 undocumented individuals and 407,178 voluntary returnees.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the repatriations appear to have picked up pace in the current year, with nearly 150,000 Afghans returning home from Pakistan and Iran by mid-February 2026. These returns added to the 5.4 million Afghans who have gone back to Afghanistan from the same two neighbouring countries since October 2023.

In June, the Ministry of Interior issued a directive to immediately arrest any Afghan national “found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa”.

“All motorcycles, rickshaws, and Qingqis registered after Jan 1, 2006, will be eligible for registration in the Prime Minister Fuel Relief Scheme,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on the social media platform X.

“Now, those who drive 20-year-old motorcycles, rickshaws, and Qingqis will also be able to benefit from the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme,” it said.

PM Shehbaz Sharif had on Sep 13 announced a “relief scheme” for users of motorcycles, autos and vehicles of up to 800cc to “alleviate the burden” of rising global oil prices.

Under the scheme, owners of motorcycles, rickshaws, Qingqis, three-wheelers and vehicles with engines of up to 800cc will receive a Rs100 per litre relief on petrol.

Motorcycles, rickshaws and Qingqis, as well as other two- and three-wheeler users, are eligible for relief on 20 litres of petrol per month. Owners of small cars with engines up to 800cc will receive the Rs100 per litre relief on 30 litres of petrol every month.

Renewed hostilities in the Middle East, which have resulted in disruption of major oil supply routes, have caused fuel prices to rise in the past two months.

In addition to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war, trade via Bab al-Mandab — which has become a vital route for Saudi oil exports in recent months — is also facing a rising threat from Houthi rebels.

The subsidy scheme faced snags on Thursday, the first day of its nationwide rollout, as many petrol pumps declined to honour the digital app, claiming they lacked the system needed to provide petrol at Rs100 per litre less.

A day prior, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) expressed concerns that its members were unaware of the subsidy disbursement mechanism and feared they would have to run from pillar to post to recover the amount.

Amid the fuel crisis, the federal government on Thursday also reintroduced austerity measures, including setting 9pm as the closing time for markets and reducing fuel provision for official vehicles by 50 per cent for a period of three months.

Footage aired on television showed citizens gathered next to a building with a collapsed wall, digging through rubble and helping the injured.

The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led Ittehadul Mujahideen.

Speaking to Dawn, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed confirmed the death toll, adding that more than 50 people were injured.

He told Dawn that a vehicle-borne suicide bomber initially struck the building’s gate. He said that some headed towards the Counter Terrorism Department building, where they were neutralised, while around three went to the Special Branch building.

An initial handout from IG Hameed said the explosion occurred at a mosque at Kohat Police Lines. It added that initial reports suggested an explosive-laden vehicle was rammed into the building.

In a later statement, he said that a suicide bomber detonated himself near the Special Branch building, adding that an exchange of fire was underway with Fitna al Khawarij terrorists.

“The operation will continue until the complete elimination of Fitna-ul-Khawarij,” the IG was quoted as saying, adding that the police’s morale remained high.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

At around 3:30pm, police said the clearance operation was “in its final stages”.

The statement detailed that seven terrorists had attempted to infiltrate Police Lines after the explosion.

“So far, six terrorists, including a suicide bomber, have been killed,” the statement said.

Separately, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi sought a detailed report on the incident, saying the targeting of innocent citizens was “deeply regrettable and unacceptable,” as per a statement issued by his office.

He directed authorities to ensure immediate treatment for the injured. “The nation’s morale cannot be dampened by cowardly acts of terrorism,” he was quoted as saying.

In 2010, 20 people, mostly the relatives of policemen, were killed and more than 90 injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast inside a police colony located just behind the Kohat Police Lines.

Condemnations pour in

President Asif Ali Zardari, condemning the incident, vowed that the complete elimination of foreign-sponsored terrorists was “essential for national security”.

President Zardari wished the injured a swift recovery.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought a report on the blast from the concerned authorities. He also directed authorities to expedite relief operations, Radio Pakistan reported.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also condemned the blast, praying for the recovery of the injured.

“The entire nation stands with the security forces to eradicate terrorism,” he said in a statement.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in his condemnation that terrorists’ “cowardly acts cannot weaken the nation’s resolve”.

A statement posted on his ministry’s X account said Naqvi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the attack and extended condolence to the bereaved.

“The nation is standing with the families of the martyrs in this moment of grief,” he was quoted as saying.

This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.